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Water Street Bagel Co. manager Sofia Hutchens watched as business came to a near screeching halt at the beginning of 2022. Empty chairs and uneasy silence clouded over the typically energetic establishment.

Hutchens was in charge of the breakfast spot during a dry period. But now, Hutchens has guided Water Street Bagel Co. into a new customer boom.

“Business was a bit slow to start the month of January with the holidays and all,” Hutchens said. “But surprisingly, we thrived and had a bit of an uptick this month despite the pandemic.”

Water Street Bagel Co. and other local businesses have faced pandemic-related obstacles in the beginning of the year. The first case of the omicron variant was discovered in Onondaga County on Dec. 13, 2021. By Jan. 9, 2022, Onondaga County reported a peak of 2,355 new daily cases of COVID-19.

Hutchens said that Water Street Bagel Co. had to manage a shortage of employees because of breakthrough cases among staff. Syracuse University students, who made up much of the business’ customer base, arrived on campus a week later than scheduled as a precautionary measure due to the anticipated uptick in COVID-19 cases.

Hutchens said that Water Street Bagel Co. had to manage a shortage of employees because of breakthrough cases among staff. Meghan Hendricks | Photo Editor

The management of another location, Glazed and Confused, also felt the impact of omicron and the university delay in mid-January.

“We’re just starting to pick back up,” said Paul Valenti, the owner of the donut shop. “The first two weeks in January were slightly off the norm for sure.”

SU students also serve as the primary customer base for Glazed and Confused, Valenti said. With the semester’s delay, Valteri said business was extremely slow to start in January.

Valenti said they have not had to close down due to staffing shortages, and business has taken off over the past few weeks.

Businesses close to the university’s campus, like Varsity Pizza on Marshall Street, also faced adversity due to omicron.

Will Hayes, Varsity Pizza’s night manager, said business cratered in mid-January, but students coming back to campus have lifted sales, he said. Hayes said people are now more comfortable going out in groups at night.

This isn’t the first time Syracuse businesses, especially restaurants, have had to adapt to the pandemic.

In March 2020, businesses were forced to shut down for months, awaiting a return to normalcy. Last year, SU delayed the start of the spring 2021 semester until Feb. 8.

Richard Cain, a barista at Salt City Coffee, said they were making half the money in January they typically made prior to the pandemic. The moment students returned to campus, business spiked, he said.

Cain said that while Salt City Coffee has remained open during the surge of omicron cases, he saw other businesses look deserted. Salt City Coffee was pretty solid in terms of having enough staff to keep business afloat.

For restaurant owners, the situation is now vastly different compared to last month. New daily cases have plummeted in the past couple of weeks and COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations have also sharply declined.

“People were just staying home,” Cain said. “They weren’t going out. Now, we’re booming.”

Published on February 8, 2022 at 11:59 pm

Contact Dominic: dcchiapp@syr.edu | @DominicChiappo2